New Year and New Goals!

I know its been a while since I posted. For some reason, I think I always have to post with a picture.

Its the beginning of March and I have a whole new year of racing. I plan to run the Victoria Times Colonist in April. The Provo Freedom Run in July and the Edmonton 10K in August. I will volunteer for the Victoria Marathon Weekend to get a look at the organization of a run.

My winter base training is finally winding down. I am trying to hit 50 miles per week but life keeps getting in the way. I average 40 miles per week with a rest week after every 2-4 weeks of training. The winter base running is 3 long runs of 10 miles each in which I focus on my running form at an aerobic pace. Right now my aerobic pace is 5:00-4:30 per kilometer. I run sprint intervals on a treadmill once per week. The sprints are 4:00-3:30 per kilometer for either 4 X 1/4 mile or 4 X 1/2 mile (I alternate each week). The purpose of the sprints is to increase my VO2 max, condition me to run while uncomfortable and give me the confidence that I can run fast. I run one 8-10 mile tempo run on the treadmill each week as well. This usually involves a 2-4 mile warmup and then running 4-6 miles at 7.5-8.5 mph. This is actually an aerobic run for me in which I focus on running hard even at the slower cadences (176-190 bpm). It is really tempting at the end of those runs to just go hard for a mile or two but discpline is a key to improvement.

I'm in Vancouver tonight, staying at the Fairmont hotel for a conference on chronic pain management this weekend. I'm just getting over a cold so lucky for me its a rest week. I'm feeling way better and looking forward to an easy 4 mile run on the hotel treadmill tomorrow morning. Later...